This invention relates generally to a brace which is used at joints of the human body to reinforce and to prevent injury thereto by constraining the motion of articulated members and more particularly to an adjustment device which sets limits to the relative motion of the articulated members at the joint. Such a brace is used particularly under conditions where the portion of the body to which the brace is applied is prone to injury or must be protected after surgery following an injury. When a joint is reinforced during post-operative periods where joint bending is desirably restrained, means must be provided to set the rigid members of the brace at a selected angle during the healing period. As the joint heals, the angle setting between the members is changed allowing additional bending at the joint. In reinforcing, for example, a knee joint, a brace as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,669,105, issued June 13, 1972, is used. As stated, it is desirable to allow for a degree of bending at the joint during the healing process after surgery. The amount of bending is progressively increased as the joint becomes stronger.
After the joint is healed, the need for adjustability in the bending angle permitted at the joint may no longer exist and a single setting of a maximum permissible bending angle may be provided. On the other hand, the recovered joint may function without any artificial restraints to bending at the joint, while reinforcement against bending along undesirable axes is still necessary and provided by retention of the joint brace. Unfortunately, in the prior art, the devices and mechanisms for limiting the amount of bending at a joint which is reinforced by a brace, are permanent features of the brace. Thus unnecessary structure, interfering with clothing, adding weight, and adversely affecting the convenience in using the leg brace remains after the need for adjustment is past. To eliminate these unnecessary elements, a new brace or new components for the brace are required, thus incurring additional expense and need for assembly and disassembly which frequently can not be accomplished except by those knowledgeable of the brace construction and having access to special tools.
Additionally, a need for a brace to restrict bending may develop for a user of a brace currently permitting a wide range of bending. In the past it would be necessary to procure a new brace or costly, frequently customized modification would be required to adapt the original brace to the new requirements.
What is needed is an adjustment device for limiting motion of an articulated joint brace which is readily attached and removeable from the brace without special tooling, and without modification to existing brace members, and which allows for adjustment in two directions in the degree of bending at the reinforced joint within desired limits.